Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
As fire raged through the Ben Franklin store in Palatine on Feb. 23, 1973, volunteer firefighter George Palmer, an engineer on the Snorkel, raised the bucket to get firefighters to the roof.
That 50-year-old firetruck, emblazoned with the names of the three firefighters who died in that blaze, was on hand Saturday as a crowd of more than 50 people and a dozen firefighters in full dress blue uniforms bid goodbye to Palmer during a memorial service in front of the historic Palatine Deluge Fire Co. Museum on the grounds of the Palatine Historical Society.
Palmer, who had heart issues and died Sept. 4 at age 85 in his home in Florida, rode on the Snorkel during the 2016 Palatine Fourth of July Parade.
Palmer was part of one the first paramedic programs in the nation, said retired Palatine Fire Lt. Bill Noland Jr., 74, who also was in that program. In addition to honing medical skills every Sunday for two months, the paramedics also received another 120 hours in training on Tuesday and Thursday nights, Noland said.
Noland was on the roof of the Ben Franklin store with other firefighters when the decision was made to get off because it was too dangerous. The store was owned by John Wilson, a volunteer firefighter who died alongside Warren “Auggie” Ahlgrim, and Richard Freeman when they ran out of air in the basement of the building.
thanks Dan
